Development of a Transformable Mechanism for Integrated Long / Short Distance Ambulatory Assistive Vehicle

Most disabled person relies on wheelchair for mobility due to their physical impairment. However, most wheelchairs are designed for short distance mobility only. When a long distance travel is needed, they have to rely on other people』s help to transfer from wheelchair to automobile as the lifting device in the automobiles is not available. This situation not only limits their independency on daily activity, but also requires the manpower of caregiver which might increase the possibility on secondary injury if there is an improper handle. In addition, the storage in the car is another burden. To overcome the transfer barrier for disabled , this project is to design and develop 「a transformable driver seat / wheelchair automatic lifting system」. Quality Functional Deployment (QFD) technique, House of Quality (HoQ) method to establish system design specification, TechOptimizer to perform conceptual mechanism design, 3D computer modelling using Solid Works package, mechanism motion simulation with Working Model software, structural analysis with finite element package, and prototype construction for functional verification are all implemented in this research work. The main functions of this system includes driver seat / wheelchair rotation, driver seat / wheelchair lifting, driver seat / wheelchair roller folding, and driver seat / wheelchair latching etc. The driver seat / wheelchair rotation function will be designed by taking the idea of eccentric rotational mechanism driven by electric actuator to reorient driver seat before moving down from automobile. Single actuator with dual parallel four-bar linkages for up and down movement between ground level and car seat level is designed for the driver seat / wheelchair lifting mechanism. The driver seat / wheelchair folding function will be implemented with six-linkage mechanism for wheelchair roller folding and unfolding. Currently, the prototype of the system has been constructed and the functional tests were verified.

Project ID:PB9706-1246
External Project ID:NSC96-2221-E182-044-MY2